by Dimitris Argyropoulos, NMR Business Manager, ACD/Labs

September is a very unusual month whichever way you look at it. It is the first month of autumn, the first month after summer vacation, the month that schools and universities start again in most places, and the month of …scientific conferences! This is the case because the weather is still good, people do not have teaching commitments (yet) and the prices at the various venues are low in order to attract the last possible customers.

A very important such NMR conference is SMASH, Small Molecules Are Still Hot. Some people may go as far as saying that this is the crown jewel of small molecule NMR conferences but we will not take sides here. SMASH started in 1999 in Chicago and stayed in the US for the next 4 years. In 2003 it was organized for the first time in Europe, in beautiful Verona, Italy. Ever since it has been alternating between Europe and the US with the European venue moving from Verona to Chamonix, France for a while, then once in Santiago de Compostella in Spain in 2013 and from 2015 to Baveno, again in Italy.

SMASH had always been the place to learn about all of the exciting developments in the world of small molecules NMR. The conference has kept to this theme very well and several of the vendors in the area, ACD/Labs included, use it to showcase all their latest and greatest offerings.

This year’s organizing committee took the light-hearted step of naming each session/workshop, etc., after the name of a popular song. So we have the “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for” session, the “We will rock you” session, and so on. Staying with this theme, we are organizing our Software Symposium titled “Stairway to Heaven” where we intend to present to you all of the very exciting developments in the world of ACD/Labs. Even though I am very tempted to tell you what new things we will be presenting, I do not want to be a “spoiler”. I can only say:

“There’s a sign on the wall,But she wants to be sure,‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings”

I can guarantee you that it will be very exciting. The symposium will take place in neighboring Stresa at the Hotel La Palma and if you attend, you will get a free pass to go up the Mottarone mountain via cable car (not a stairway!) and enjoy the stunning view from the top. Are you ready?

- Dimitris

P.S. If you are not able to be there then keep an eye on our Twitter and LinkedIn feeds to get a glimpse of what is happening.